You’ve read our sunny, cheerful blog posts about us visiting cool places and having wonderful experiences. They’re all true, but as much as we travel, it’s inevitable that once in a while a horrible day sneaks in there.

Like our recent travel day from Guayaquil, Ecuador to Medellín, Colombia.

It didn’t start off that badly. Except we’re not in the habit of getting up at six in the morning. We’d arrived in Guayaquil the night before from Cuenca, enjoyed a good (although short) night’s sleep, and had an uneventful ride to the airport.

For some reason we couldn’t check in online for our flight the day before. When we arrived at the Avianca counter we found out why.

“Can I see your tickets for leaving Colombia?” the agent asked.

“They’re not booked yet. We haven’t finalized plans with our family to visit during Christmas.”

“You both have to show a ticket to board this flight.”

...

Cynthia:  Last time we started talking about how our new adventure is repeating the stages described in the titles of our trilogy of books. Specifically that we’re once again taking a “Leap of Faith.”

Edd:  The second volume, “Letting Go,” is my personal favorite. We could have called it “Cutting Loose.” My Gosh, it seems like we partied for two straight years!

C:  We arrived in Cuenca so broken from the financial strain we’d been under. The sheer joy of being released from that burden translated into a nonstop celebration of freedom.

E:  Totally unsustainable but what a blast while it lasted! We truly were leaving behind so much. Not only the money hardships. We were also saying goodbye to the stress and pressures of everyday life in American culture. The multitasking and over-scheduling. Traffic. Never feeling relaxed.

C:  What do you think we’re “letting go” of now?

E:  Well, our...

Edd:  Well, here we are. Back in the States for the trip that was originally supposed to have happened in April. How great is it to finally be with the New Jersey half of our family?

Cynthia:  It’s terrific! We’ve logged a lot of hours on Skype and Zoom during the past six months, and I’m grateful this technology has made it possible for us to stay closely connected. Who knew we would be jumping on Zoom with our grandchildren to help with their school work? 

Since a lot of people aren’t flying these days and wondering if it's safe to travel, why don’t we talk about our observations from being in 2 countries, 3 planes, and 4 airports getting here?

E:  So much has changed since our last trip in January, especially having to do with traveling. We had no idea what to expect. Here’s a recap of our experience over a 24-hour period along with some photos.

The airport in Cuenca has only one or two flights a day right now, but the...

“Hot enough for you?” 

Family and friends tell us it’s been so hot in the U.S. this summer that chickens are laying hard boiled eggs. 

Here in the southern hemisphere it’s the middle of winter. Which where we live in the Andes mountains means—basically nothing. 

A bit of nip in the air some days. A few degrees cooler at night. In regards to climate it’s pretty much Groundhog Day all year for us.

We call it “Goldilocks weather”—not too hot and not too cold. Just right!

Apparently, we’re not the only ones who find that idea appealing. By far the most popular report on our website has always been one about affordable locations close to the States where it’s springtime all the time. 

That article highlighted four great spots, including our hometown Cuenca, Ecuador. But we realized there are a lot more places out there to tell you about. 

So we decided to pump up the volume and have just published...

 If I live abroad, am I an immigrant or an expat?

A subscriber recently wrote to ask, “You always refer to yourselves as expats. Since you came from the U.S. to Ecuador, doesn’t that make you immigrants?”

Great question.

The short answer is, yes, technically we are immigrants. Upon arrival here we had to immediately begin a legal process to become permanent residents.

Immigration policy has been a much discussed and debated topic internationally in recent years. 

Some nations provide open borders; others are seeking to be more restrictive.

Ecuador generally falls more in the first camp. We have always felt welcomed here, and although not citizens we can vote and participate in the national health care system.

But the country’s kindness and generosity have been strained by the influx of so many refugees exiting Venezuela. 

To the point that before borders were shut down completely because of coronavirus, Venezuelans were no longer allowed to...

Cynthia:  Great job on those baby back ribs. Combining our son’s advice with the recipe you found delivered a great result. Glad we could enjoy some traditional 4th of July food. (Want the recipe? Click here...)

Edd:  Thanks. The whole meal was delicious. You know, since we were here at this time on our scouting trip in 2009, we’re actually celebrating our 11th Independence Day in Ecuador. Can’t say I remember all of them but THIS one won’t be forgotten.

C:  For sure. In all of our years on the planet we’ve never experienced what we’ve been living through during the first half of 2020. It’s been a total reinvention for so many. 

E:  Not just daily life, but how they’re celebrating milestones including this holiday. 

C:  Of course, we were disappointed our spring trip to visit family was cancelled. Grateful we’ve stayed healthy!

E:  Yep. I know many people’s lives have been turned...

Hooray!

This week coronavirus lockdown restrictions were relaxed as Ecuador appears to have “flattened the curve.”

We learned that a handful of restaurants have been allowed to reopen with proper safety protocols.

After 2 ½ months of our biweekly, grocery store trip being the “Big Event” at Casa Staton, we were beyond anxious to dress up a bit and walk into town to enjoy a sit-down meal somewhere other than our dining room!

Even though more cars are allowed out, we found most streets to be nearly empty.

Parque de la Madre, a large park normally filled with families on the weekend, is taped off and deserted.

It’s heartbreaking to see how overgrown and unkempt the entire space has become.

When we arrived at Café del Museo we were stopped at this table to have the bottom of our shoes sprayed. At the restaurant entrance we stepped into a tray to again clean our shoes (not sure what’s up with the focus on that particular...

Cynthia:  It was so great to hear from readers this week about how things are going in their areas. Some even sent photos!

Edd:  And we were really appreciative of those who asked how we’re faring here in Ecuador.

C:  Ironically, we’re supposed to be on a 5-week, family trip right now in the States. Specifically in New Jersey, one of the coronavirus hot spots.

E:  Yep. At the beginning of March we contemplated changing our itinerary and going early when all this craziness started. In retrospect we made the right decision staying put.

C:  I’ll say. Glad we trusted my intuition. Our country’s restrictions are more stringent than many places we’ve read about, but Cuenca has less than 200 cases in a population of over 600,000.

E:  You know, since we work from home anyway, our daily life is probably 90% the same as it was before. We just don’t get to go out for lunch a few times a week, and we visit the grocery store less...

Edd:  Wow, we sure covered a lot of topics on the Now It’s My Turn! TV show last weekend!

Cynthia:  We never seem to be at a loss for words. I especially enjoyed our discussion of Super Agers.

E:  Readers may not know what that term means. Harvard Medical School defines this group as "people in their 70s and 80s who have the mental or physical capability of their decades-younger counterparts."

C:  Well, that covers one of us.

E:  Ha! You’ll be joining me in a few years. And as we pointed out to Lana McAra, the show’s host, our current state of optimal health and wellness isn’t a lucky accident. A lot of intention has gone into it.

C:  Yeah, you touched on our aspiration to become Super Agers in the blog you wrote about being a septuagenarian. Regarding the mental part of the equation, I feel like living abroad in Ecuador for the past decade has greatly contributed to our well-being and unshakeable optimism.

E:  Remember that...

When Cuenca’s biggest fundraising event of the year involves delicious food from all over the world, you know we’re gonna be there!

Recently we attended the 25th Annual International Food Festival at Mall del Rio. The event supports FASEC, a non-profit, volunteer organization providing palliative and hospice care for patients with cancer and other chronic illnesses.

Thousands of attendees feasted on food from Argentina, Chile, Columbia, France, Germany, Italy, Mexico, Spain, Switzerland, and the United States.

Veteran patrons like us know to head straight to the dessert table for the best selection. Several of these yummy treats came home with us!

You can’t have a food event in Cuenca without a roasted pig!

Count on the USA booth to be grilling barbecue ribs every year. It’s fun to think back to 2010 when we helped establish this tradition and our country participated for the first time.

Argentina was cooking sides of deliciousness gaucho style over an open...